Loris Chobanian, Professor of Composition and Guitar and Composer-in-Residence (see Strings).
Kent Cleland, Associate Professor of Music Theory and Chair of the Music Theory Department. Ph.D., University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music; M.L.S., Duke University; M.M., Indiana University; B.M., Ohio University School of Music. Dr. Cleland has previously taught music theory at Oberlin College and the university of Cincinnati. Dr. Cleland's research focuses on two areas: the interaction of time and the perception of change in music, and the pedagogy of music theory, especially the acquisition of aural skills, which has led to the co-authoring of an aural skills textbook. Much of his career has been in music administration and has included positions as Interim Director of the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory (present), Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations and the Annual Fund for the Cincinnati Art Museum, and collegiate admissions positions for the DePauw University school of music and the Indiana University School of Music. Dr. Cleland has performed as bass trombonist with the Northern Kentucky Symphony, the Evansville Philharmonic, and with professional chamber and jazz ensembles throughout the Midwest. Email: kcleland@bw.edu.
Jennifer Conner, Lecturer in Music Theory. D.M.A, M.M., Composition from the Cleveland Institute of Music, B.A., Music, Dance and Fine Arts Interdisciplinary from the University of California Irvine. Principal teachers include Donald Erb, George Tsontakis, Bernard Rands. Jennifer Conner is an active teacher and composer in the Cleveland area. Her music has been performed by the Cleveland Orchestra, Akron Symphony, Canton Symphony, and Grand Rapids Symphony, as well as by numerous chamber music groups including the Myriad Ensemble. She has had several works broadcast over WCLV, and her choral Anthem, "My Peace" is recorded on the Church of the Covenant's "American Music" CD. Jennifer Conner also teaches theory and composition at the Cleveland Institute of Music and is head of the Suzuki music theory program there. Her Foundations in Music curriculum for teaching music theory to the young is currently used by both the Institute of Music and the Pittsburgh Academy. she is a member of ASCAP, the Cleveland Composer's Guild, and Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Lamda.
Mary Dobrea-Grindahl, Assistant Professor of Piano, Piano Pedagogy, Instructor of Solfege and Dalcroze Eurhythmics (see Keyboard).
James Feldman, Professor of Music Theory. Ph.D., Kent State University; M.M., B.M., Eastman School of Music. Dr. Feldman is a Pianist, accompanist, and composer whose compositions have been published by Shawnee Press and Mark Foster; he has been awarded the Louis Lane Prize for Composition. Dr. Feldman was a recipient of the Bechberger Award for Human Development in 1981. He was a contributor to The International Dictionary of Opera (St. James Press) and is a member of Kappa Delta Pi. Email: jfeldman@bw.edu
James Hirt, Lecturer in Music Theory and Composition. D.M.A., M.M., University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music; B.M., Capital University. Dr. Hirt's compositions are published by C. Alan Publications and Jeffers Handbell Supply. Hirt's music has been performed by The Cleveland Orchestra, The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, The Cincinnati Youth Symphony Orchestra, The St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, The DePauw Symphony Orchestra, and so on. His orchestral works have been broadcast on over 500 times in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The composer has received many commissions and won a number of national and local composition competitions, including: two prestigious A.S.C.A.P. awards, Ohio Arts Council Individual Artists Fellowships, The David Gillingham Signature Series Competition, The Cincinnati Symphony's Bicentennial Young Composers Competition, The American Choral Directors Composition Competition, the Margaret Fairbanks Jory Copying Assistance Grant, a University of Cincinnati Research Fellowship, the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs Competition, the WGUC 20th Anniversary Competition, and many A.S.C.A.P. Standard Grants. Dr. Hirt has studied music composition with Jonathan Kramer, Norman Dinerstein, and Allen Sapp. He has taught a wide variety of music courses at the University of Cincinnati, ranging from Music Theory, Music Composition, and Counterpoint, to classes on 20th Century Music, and the weekly performances of the Cincinnati Symphony Orceshtra. Email: jhirt@bw.edu ; Dr. Hirt's HOME PAGE
Beth Hiser, Assistant Professor of Music Theory. Ph.D., M.M., The University of Texas at Austin, B.M., The University of Florida. Dr. Hiser has taught Musicianship, Structure of Tonal Music, and Ear Training and Sight-Singing at the University of Texas. She currently teaches Harmony and Solfège at Baldwin-Wallace College. Her dissertation is entitled “Genre and Gesture: Robert Schumann’s Piano Music for and about Children.” Dr. Hiser will be presenting some of her work on gestures in Schumann’s music at an international symposium and music festival in 2006. Her research interests include pedagogy, linear analysis, atonal analysis, Romantic aesthetics, world music, and pop music. Email: bhiser@bw.edu.
Jodie Ricci, Lecturer in Piano. MM, Kent State University; BME, Baldwin-Wallace College. (see Keyboard)
Michael Strasser, Assistant Professor of Music History. Ph.D. in Musicology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; M.A. in Musicology, Louisiana State University; B.A. in Music Education, University of West Florida. Dr. Strasser's research interests focus primarily on music of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His dissertation, written under the supervision of Dr. Alexander Ringer, was a study of the Société Nationale de Musique, a concert society that promoted the composition of new French music in fin-de-siècle Paris. He has presented papers on aspects of his research at conference of the American Musicological Society and the International Musicological society. In addition, Dr. Strasser has published an article on Arnold Schoenberg, and presented papers on Mexican colonial church music and music in colonial New England. While researching his dissertation, Dr. Strasser spent two years in Paris as a recipient of a prestigious Chateaubriand Fellowship awarded by the French government for the study of French history and culture. He has taught at the University of Evansville, and before turning his attention to musicology, was a band director at a high school in Florida and at the University of Louisville. Email: mstrasse@bw.edu
Melvin Unger, Director of Riemenschneider Bach Institute, Professor of Music History. D.M.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; M.M., University of Oregon at Eugene; B.M., University of Saskatchewan at Saskatoon. Studied conducting under Helmuth Rilling at Frankfurt Conservatory on a D.A.A.D. Scholarship. Previously taught at North American Baptist College, University of Hawaii-Hilo, and The King's College, Edmonton. Conductor of Edmonton Da Camera Singers. Participating conductor of Oregon Bach Festival in 1977 and 1979. Some awards include American Choral Directors Association Research Award, William H. Scheide Fellowship, and five Publishing Awards from North American Baptist College. Recorded with Da Camera Singers and NAB College Choristers and Vocal Ensembles. Member of American Choral Directors Association, Association of Canadian Choral Conductors, Alberta Choral Federation, American Musicological Society, American Bach Society, and the Riemenschneider Bach Institute. Author of three books, including award-winning Handbook to Bach's Sacred Cantata Texts (Scarecrow Press 1996). Email: munger@bw.edu
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